Preliminary Assessment of the Acute Effects of Far Infrared-Emitting Garments: What Are the Possible Implications for Recovery and Performance?
Author:
Bertuccioli Alexander12ORCID, Cannataro Roberto34ORCID, Gervasi Marco1ORCID, Benelli Piero1, Gregoretti Aurora5, Ragazzini Mirko25ORCID, Neri Marco5, Palazzi Chiara Maria25, Cardinali Marco6, Zonzini Giordano1
Affiliation:
1. Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, 61029 Urbino, Italy 2. Microbiota International Clinical Society, 10123 Torino, Italy 3. Galascreen Laboratories, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy 4. Research Division, Dynamical Business and Science Society, DBSS International SAS, Bogota 110311, Colombia 5. AIFeM (Italian Medicine and Fitness Federation), 48121 Ravenna, Italy 6. Department of Internal Medicine, Infermi Hospital, AUSL Romagna, 47921 Rimini, Italy
Abstract
Technical clothing has recently been brought into the spotlight as one of the most promising tools to improve sports performance and to enhance sports recovery. Among technical clothing items, garments engineered to emit far infrared (FIR) spectrum frequencies have come to the fore as a treatment for pain, muscle fatigue, and tissue healing due to their potential antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, with applications not only during recovery phases but also in the active phases of exercise. These garments, composed of fibers mixed with noble metals and/or bioceramics that respond to body infrared frequencies by returning an FIR emission backwards, are thought to improve muscle oxygenation and therefore recovery. In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study, ten male trail running athletes wore a whole-body-covering suit marketed as Accapì-FIR (Bruno Chiaruttini S.r.l., Rezzato, BS, Italy), while a total body suit with the same polyester fiber without metal components was used as control for the intervention. Parameters such as weight, height, bioimpedance parameters (BIVA), lactate from capillary sampling, salivary cortisol, and average temperatures of different body areas were obtained before and after a twelve-minute incremental work run protocol on a treadmill whilst wearing the two kinds of garment. Using the intervention suit, compared to control, statistically significant reductions in BIVA parameters such as body resistance (−6.7%) and reactance (−5.4%) were observed before and after exercise while a greater, but not significant, weight reduction was observed with the intervention suit. Decrease in resistance could be the result of a different distribution of fluids and ions due to FIR influence on capillary and superficial circulation, leading ultimately to more efficient management of body heat and promoting recovery and supercompensation. Further studies on larger samples will be necessary to confirm and clarify these results.
Subject
Paleontology,Space and Planetary Science,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Reference40 articles.
1. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (2009). Unexploded Ordnance Detection and Mitigation, Springer in Cooperation with NATO Public Diplomacy Division. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series B: Physics and Biophysics. 2. Zati, A., and Valent, A. (2017). Terapia Fisica: Nuove Tecnologie in Medicina Riabilitativa, Edizioni Minerva Medica. [2nd ed.]. 3. Far Infrared Radiation (FIR): Its Biological Effects and Medical Applications;Vatansever;Photonics Lasers Med.,2012 4. Effects of Far Infrared Rays Irradiated from Ceramic Material (BIOCERAMIC) on Psychological Stress-Conditioned Elevated Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, and Oxidative Stress-Suppressed Cardiac Contractility;Leung;Chin. J. Physiol.,2012 5. Leung, T.-K. (2014). Protective Effect of Non-Ionizing Radiation from Ceramic Far Infrared (CFIR)-Emitting Material against Oxidative Stress on Human Breast Epithelial Cells. J. Med. Biol. Eng., 34.
|
|